Ultimate Guide to Arms Warrior Rotation in Legion

This comprehensive guide covers the Arms Warrior specialization for World of Warcraft’s Legion 7.0 expansion. The DPS rotation has evolved significantly with new mechanics that reward precise ability sequencing. Your single-target damage primarily derives from executing Mortal Strike and Execute while targets are affected by Colossus Smash, which enables powerful modifiers like Shattered Defenses and Focused Rage.

Critical Strike and Mastery remain your paramount stat priorities for gear selection. The emphasis on critical attributes has substantially increased compared to Warlords of Draenor. For optimal performance, allocate at least half your gear attributes following this pattern: Primary attribute-Critical Strike, Secondary attribute-Mastery. Insufficient critical chance directly translates to noticeable DPS reduction. During Legion’s initial phase, target 30% critical strike chance alongside 75-100% mastery values for consistent damage output.

Many players mistakenly prioritize versatility over mastery, which diminishes your Execute phase effectiveness. Always prioritize items with critical strike, followed by mastery, while avoiding haste-heavy gear that disrupts your rage generation balance. For comprehensive gear optimization strategies, consult our Weapons Unlock guide that covers stat weight calculations.

Tactician: This weapon mastery passive ability provides a 0.65% probability per Rage point expended to immediately reset the remaining cooldown duration on both Colossus Smash and Mortal Strike, creating dynamic rotation opportunities.

Focused Rage: A talent selection that consumes no global cooldown. This ability concentrates your rage to empower your next Shield Slam, boosting its damage output by 50% with stacking potential up to three times for massive burst damage.

Shattered Defenses: An artifact trait that activates after employing Colossus Smash. Your subsequent Mortal Strike or Execute gains 30% additional critical strike probability and inflicts 30% extra damage, making timing crucial.

Warbreaker: An instant-cast artifact trait. Slamming the ground generates a circle of corrupted spikes erupting upward, dealing 350% Shadow damage while applying the Colossus Smash debuff to all enemies within range, excellent for cleave situations.

Battle Cry: This one-minute cooldown ability unleashes a powerful battle cry that guarantees 100% critical strike chance for five seconds, perfect for burst windows.

Mastering the Arms Warrior rotation requires understanding ability interactions beyond simple priority lists. Your core single-target sequence should begin with applying Colossus Smash, followed by Mortal Strike to consume Shattered Defenses. During execute phase, prioritize Execute over Mortal Strike when the target falls below 20% health.

For multi-target engagements, time Warbreaker to apply Colossus Smash to all enemies, then use Whirlwind or Cleave while maintaining your single-target rotation on the primary target. Coordinate Battle Cry with stacked Focused Rage and Colossus Smash windows for maximum damage amplification. For broader class strategies, reference our Class Guide covering all specializations.

Common rotation mistakes include wasting Shattered Defenses procs, overlapping cooldowns inefficiently, and mismanaging Focused Rage stacks. Advanced players should track Tactician procs visually and anticipate Colossus Smash resets to maintain optimal damage uptime.

Preparation before Legion launch is critical for competitive performance. Consult our dedicated guide: Essential warrior activities during Legion’s inaugural week

Second wind: Passive ability that activates after avoiding damage for 5 seconds, restoring 6% health every second. This sustain mechanic becomes crucial during disengage phases or when creating distance from enemies.

Strategic positioning is essential for maximizing Second Wind’s effectiveness. Many players make the mistake of trying to activate it while still in combat range – instead, use terrain obstacles or crowd control to create the necessary 5-second window. The healing provides approximately 30% total health recovery if uninterrupted, making it invaluable for surviving prolonged engagements.

While the tooltip mentions 0% damage reduction, this stance’s true power lies in its threat multiplication and Rage conversion mechanics. Advanced tanking involves timing stance switches – entering Defensive Stance when anticipating heavy damage to fuel your abilities, then switching back to offensive stances when safe. This dynamic playstyle separates skilled warriors from beginners.

This ability transforms Heroic Leap from a simple positioning tool into a versatile engagement and escape mechanism. The movement speed burst allows you to quickly close distance after leaping away from danger, or to reposition for follow-up attacks. With proper Class Guide integration, you can chain this mobility with other warrior skills for devastating effect.

Common mistake: Using Heroic Leap solely for engagement. Expert players utilize the reduced cooldown to maintain constant mobility, making them harder to target while controlling the battlefield tempo. The 70% speed increase also helps in chasing down fleeing enemies or escaping dangerous area-of-effect attacks.

This talent shines during execution windows, providing the Rage needed to chain abilities without normal resource constraints. The 20 Rage injection enables follow-up Shield Slams or other high-cost abilities that would normally require building resource through standard means.

Having two charges changes how you approach combat rotations. Instead of using Mortal Strike on cooldown, you can save charges for precise moments when the target is vulnerable or when you need immediate damage. This pairs exceptionally well with our Weapons Unlock strategies for maximum damage output.

Advanced tactic: Use one charge normally while holding the second for when ‘In for the Kill’ activates, creating a powerful Rage-positive execute combo that can overwhelm opponents during critical health thresholds.

This skill requires strategic foresight – building stacks during low-pressure moments to unleash devastating Shield Slams when opportunities arise. The 150% total damage increase at 3 stacks can decisively turn engagements in your favor.

Optimal usage involves pre-stacking before major engagements or during predictable damage windows. Since it doesn’t trigger the global cooldown, you can weave it between other abilities without disrupting your combat rhythm. For comprehensive warrior strategies, check our Complete Guide for in-depth analysis.

Common pitfall: Holding stacks too long waiting for perfect moments. Expert players recognize that even 1-2 stack Shield Slams provide significant value and should be used when available rather than optimized perfectly.

Tactical advance: When Heroic Leap lands, you gain 10% increased armor and chance to parry for 4 sec. This defensive boost is particularly valuable when disengaging from dangerous situations or repositioning during boss mechanics that require quick movement.

Precise strikes: Colossus Smash reduces the Rage cost of your next Mortal Strike or Execute by 15%. This talent creates significant resource efficiency during your primary damage windows, allowing for more ability usage when it matters most.

Many will fall: Increases damage dealt by Whirlwind by 5%. While this may seem modest, it substantially improves your area-of-effect capabilities when combined with other multipliers.

Death blow: Increases the critical strike chance of Execute by 5%. This enhancement is crucial during execute phase where maximizing critical hits dramatically increases your damage per second.

Focus in battle: Increases damage dealt by Colossus Smash by 25%. This massive amplification makes proper timing of this ability essential for peak performance.

Unending rage: Increases maximum Rage by 10. The additional resource pool enables more flexible ability usage and reduces downtime between major cooldowns.

Touch of Zakajz: Strom’kar heals you for 3% of the damage you deal with Mortal Strike. This sustain mechanism helps offset incidental damage during extended encounters.

One against many: Cleave increases damage dealt by your next Whirlwind by an additional 2% for each target hit. In multi-target scenarios, this can result in massive damage amplification when properly stacked.

Defensive measures: While Die by the Sword is active, damage taken is reduced by an additional 5%. This layered defense makes your primary survival cooldown even more effective against heavy incoming damage.

Single Target Rotation of Arms Warrior

Mastering the Arms Warrior rotation requires understanding ability priority and timing windows. Your core rotation revolves around the Colossus Smash debuff window, where you should concentrate your highest damage abilities.

Opening Sequence: Begin with Charge to generate initial Rage, immediately followed by Colossus Smash to apply the damage vulnerability. Use Mortal Strike as your primary Rage spender during this window, prioritizing it over other abilities when available.

Priority System: During Colossus Smash window: Mortal Strike > Execute (below 20% health) > Overpower > Slam. Outside of Colossus Smash: Maintain Rend if talented, use Whirlwind to cleave or as filler, and pool Rage for the next damage window.

Execute Phase Optimization: When the target reaches 20% health, your rotation shifts dramatically. Pool Rage before the phase transition to ensure you can immediately use Execute multiple times. With the Death Blow talent, your critical strike chance on Execute increases, making this your highest priority ability.

Cooldown Management: Time your Warbreaker (if talented) with Colossus Smash for area damage, and use Bladestorm during Colossus Smash windows for maximum effect. Defensive cooldowns like Die by the Sword should be used proactively during high damage periods.

Ability Synergies: The combination of Precise Strikes with Colossus Smash creates a powerful resource efficiency loop. By reducing the Rage cost of your next Mortal Strike or Execute, you can chain more abilities during your damage windows. This is particularly potent during execute phase where you can fire off multiple Executes in rapid succession.

Timing Optimization: Heroic Leap’s defensive benefits from Tactical Advance should be timed with anticipated incoming damage. The 4-second window of increased armor and parry chance can significantly reduce damage from boss mechanics or add phases.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: Many players waste Colossus Smash on targets that will soon become immune or phase out. Always ensure your major cooldowns align with damage opportunities. Another frequent error is poor Rage management – either overcapping or entering important phases without sufficient resources.

Advanced Positioning: Use Heroic Leap not just for its defensive benefits but also for optimal positioning. Staying behind or to the side of targets whenever possible reduces parry chances and optimizes your damage output. For more comprehensive combat strategies, check out our Class Guide that covers advanced positioning techniques.

Stat Priority Insights: While not directly covered in abilities, understanding that Critical Strike enhances your Execute phase and Mastery improves your Colossus Smash window damage is crucial for gearing decisions. Visit our Complete Guide for detailed stat weight analysis and gear optimization strategies.

No reproduction without permission：OnLineGames Guides » Ultimate Guide to Arms Warrior Rotation in Legion